


It Wasn't A Goodbye

by DreamingofStardust



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Mushy Feelings, Robbie Reyes being tired of a lot of shit, Self-Reflection, Swearing, Threats of Violence, Unresolved but Hopeful Ending, and just wants to see his Daisy, season 5 speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 08:23:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11551293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamingofStardust/pseuds/DreamingofStardust
Summary: Robbie returns from the other dimension ready to pick things up from where he left them off with Daisy.





	It Wasn't A Goodbye

Robbie Reyes was no stranger to saying good-bye. 

He said it that warm fall morning in the Calvary Cemetery as he laid his parents to rest. He said it that day before the end of his junior year when he told his favorite teacher, Mr. Valdez, he wasn't going to be returning to Garfield High next year. He said it that first Saturday night after he became the Ghost Rider when he broke it off with his high-school sweetheart, Lisa, for her safety and happiness. He said it that hazy winter afternoon as his Uncle Eli burned for his sins beneath Robbie's grasp.

Good-byes were a recognizable, unwanted companion in his life. Like a festering old battle scar being ripped open over and over again, Robbie knew when it was time for him to say another good-bye. To part ways for good and know he'd never see that person again.

When he had hesitated outside that portal he whipped up with the Darkhold in hand, and Daisy had nodded at him with a tender smile that matched her eyes, he knew. 

That wasn't a good-bye. It was a "see you later." 

Robbie had never been more certain of this than anything else in his life. He could feel it in his bones even when the rest of him burned away. Daisy Johnson was meant to be in his life ever since she walked into that junkyard countless nights ago. 

He honestly didn't know how he got attached to her so quickly. She had been nothing but a pain in the ass for him at first, but that somehow soon turned into a begrudging team-up. Sure, they had bonded over their shared darkness and had each other's back when it was just them against the world, but he would hardly call what they had a friendship. The Ghost Rider didn't have friends. 

But then, he stopped Eli. He saved Los Angeles, and ended up in what most would Hell for his troubles. 

Robbie had thought that was it for him. After all his strife and struggles, he was resigned to spend the rest of his days in that dark dimension being the vessel for the demon inside him to kill with. Still, in the moments when he was too numb to even register what he was doing, when it hurt too much to think about Gabe, his thoughts would turn to her. To the spunky girl dressed in silver and black who hid her vulnerability and compassion behind biting words and earthquakes.

It started off innocently enough, just a curious thought about her well-being or a reminisce of one of their conversations, but soon enough all he could think about was her. It quickly got to the point where he could imagine she was right there with him, giving him one of her sassy remarks: 

_"Really, Reyes? You call that a punch?"_

_"Come on, Carrot Top, even I could do this in my sleep!"_

_"Whoa, there, Hotshot, take yourself seriously much?"_

It was wishful thinking, an illusion in his mind to keep himself sane, but her words and ghostly image were the one small pleasure he seemed to be allowed. Even if it wasn't actually her, Daisy had been there to keep himself from completely drowning in that Hellish darkness. She kept that small bit of human in him alive even when he was losing himself to the Rider. 

And then, it had happened. A small crack in the dimension had formed like sliver of a broken mirror. He pushed himself through it and he was back. Sure, the Rider had a mission for him. Mystical darkness and danger were afoot on Earth. Robbie could sense that enough, as if the dark energy was a choking, acrid smog. Still, he was back. He could finally be him after who knew how long he was gone in that other dimension.

Then she had shown up.

Even if it had been weeks or months, he recognized the sound of her black heeled boots thumping rhythmically on the hard concrete before she even appeared. When she had turned the corner and finally walked into his view, Robbie was knocked breathless.

It was Daisy. It was actually her, here in front of him in the flesh. Her hair was a little longer and all the heavy dark makeup was gone, but it was her. Bruised and battered but still heavenly even in the dim warehouse lights. Robbie's heart had sputtered wildly inside his chest like a caged bird, and it took all his willpower to keep his cool.

Alright, so he liked her. A lot. He had tried to deny it in his head, explaining to himself whatever he was feeling was just because he hadn't been around other people for quite some time and he had missed her, but Robbie could only hold on to his disillusioned stubbornness for so long.

Ever time she was in the room, his eyes were drawn to her like a poor moth to a dazzling inferno. Each soft smile she sent his way sent sparks tingling up his spine. His whole body just gravitated towards her like planets around stars.

_"But I'm here now . . . And that's good."_

_"That is good."_

He wouldn't call it love or any other crazy idea like that, but there was something there between him and Daisy. Something that made the small space between them more charged than a lightning storm. Robbie had thought it was just him who felt this way until he stopped outside the portal to look at her one last time. He didn't know how long he would be gone this time, or if he would even be back at all, but at least his last image of this world would be of her. The girl who shook up his whole life that night in the junkyard. 

That's when he had seen it. The look in her eye that nearly made his heart stop completely once more. It was unmistakable. A sense of longing for him to stay even though they both knew he had a duty to uphold, but there was also something else. 

Hope.

Hope that he would be back someday. Hope that they would see each other again. Hope that maybe this unspoken connection between them could turn into something more. Something real. 

When Robbie became the Ghost Rider so many years ago, he never thought he could find something like that in his life again. He had resigned himself to being satisfied enough that Gabe was alive. His brother would live and prosper and be able to go on to do the things that Robbie never had the opportunity or luxury to pursue.

Robbie had made many sacrifices in his life, and he didn't regret a single one of them. But, as Robbie entered through the portal, he knew. Now was not the time for another one. Whatever this thing was he had with Daisy, it was special, and he wasn't going to miss it.

This wasn't a good-bye.

* * *

Robbie spun his Hellfire chain round and round until the fiery circle exploded into life in a shower of orange sparks. With the _Darkhold_ now safely stowed in a place no one could even dream of finding it and the Rider satisfied for the time being with his thirst for vengeance against the demons of Hell, it was time for him to finally go home to Earth. To Gabe. To Her. 

Robbie swung the chain across his torso like a sash, making sure it was secure before stepping through the portal. His stomach immediately began to toss and turn as the interdimensional energy swirled around him like a storming sea. Despite the countless amount of times he had gone through these portals, he never could get used to them. It was worse than the Scrambler ride at Pacific Park. But before he could become the first person to throw up in an interdimensional portal, he bursted through to the other side. 

Robbie blinked as he steadied himself. He was back right where he had left at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. It was almost as if nothing had changed at all. Boxes and various supplies laid scattered haphazardly about in the dingy, dark room. Scorch marks from the explosion Daisy had told him about still lined the door and windows. Even the dismantled remains of the portal machine still sat in one of the corners. The only differences that told him he hadn't just been gone for a few minutes were the fact that Daisy and the rest of her S.H.I.E.L.D. friends were gone and everything was now covered in a much thicker layer of dust.

He frowned. The place was abandoned. For how long, he wasn't sure, but long enough to know nobody was coming back. Not that he should be surprised after all the events that happened before he left. Still, that didn't stop the heavy weight from growing in his chest.

Robbie's eyes turned to the closest object on the ground near him, an old plastic crate with a few odd metal parts in it, and kicked it with all his might. The innocent little box went clattering across the room, nearly smashing into the far wall. He gritted his teeth as throbbing pain flared through his foot.

If S.H.I.E.L.D. went underground again, how on Earth was he ever going to find Daisy? They were a spy organization, for Christ' sake, who apparently had been working in the shadows for years without the general population ever noticing. If they really wanted to, they could disappear without a single trace.

Robbie sighed and the tenseness strung tight throughout his body lessened. _Of course, seeing her again was never going to be that easy,_ he thought with a bitter laugh. What was he expecting? A welcome home party? Her running in to his arms and begging him to never leave again? Please. When did anything in his life ever go that well? 

"Who the hell are you?"

He froze. The stranger's voice, even at a normal volume, echoed loudly through the silent room. 

Robbie slowly turned to find a blonde woman dressed in an Air Force uniform standing in the doorway. She held a service pistol in her hands and had it trained directly on him. Robbie's gut clenched as he eyed the small black revolver. He wasn't afraid of death, but guns could only lead to trouble.

Robbie slowly raised his arms with open palms towards the woman. "I'm a friend of Coulson's," he stated but immediately bit his tongue as soon as the words left his mouth. 

The woman's eyes widened as she tightened her grip on her weapon. The soft click of the gun's safety being turned off rang clearer than a church bell through his ears. A feverish flame quickly began to burn across his body as the Rider stirred in his head, growling defensively and ready to spring into action if necessary.

"Easy there--" His eyes scanned her uniform and quickly found a name lapel -- "Evans. You don't want to do that," he said. More for her sake than his. 

"What are you doing here? Did Coulson send you?" She asked harshly. "In fact, how did you even get in? This is now private property overseen by the U.S. Government as possible evidence while S.H.I.E.L.D. is under investigation. We have guards at every possible entrance and exit." 

"Listen, ma'am, I just happened to end up here. I've sort of been busy off in my own little world for a while. I just came to look for somebody. I guess they're not here." 

"Look for who?" 

Robbie hesitated. He didn't want to go blabbering around about what he was up to, but at the same time he really didn't know where to start looking. Maybe she would. The government certainly had to have a tail on S.H.I.E.L.D. If they weren't already under arrest, that is. 

"Daisy Johnson." 

Evans tilted her head, her lips pulling together in an amused grin. "I guess you truly have been off in your little world." 

That caused him to furrow his brow. "What do you mean?"

She gave him a once over, mentally debating whether she should elaborate before sighing and slightly lowering her weapon. 

"We tracked Johnson, Coulson and the rest of their ragtag gang to a diner outside of Denton not long after your friend shot Talbot. We had planned to intercept them there and bring them in for arrest, when someone already beat us to it." 

Robbie tensed as an icy chill quickly began to settle in his stomach.

"Apparently," she continued. "A bunch of shady characters showed up a few minutes before we did and suddenly they were all gone. No word of their appearances ever since despite all of our best efforts to track them down these past few months." 

"So, you're saying they just upped and disappeared?" 

"Yeah, as if they got abducted by aliens right on the spot. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secretive, but even we get some buzz about them from time to time. Now, they're just gone." 

Her words swarmed through his mind like a hive of bees. Gone? Taken by shady-looking people months ago and they still had no idea who, where or why? Robbie clenched his jaw. God, if the freaking government couldn't even find them, how was he supposed to? Daisy's hopeful brown eyes flashed through his mind and his heart grew heavy.

"Listen, sir," Evans drawled out slowly, sending him cautious but curious looks. "You are, in fact, trespassing on federal property, and it seems like you may know some information about our mutual missing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents." She hesitantly took a step towards him. "I'm going to have to ask you come with me for questioning." 

Robbie's eyes narrowed as he slowly grasped the end of his chain. Questioning? Sure, they'd question him alright, and then try to toss him into a cell right after. Besides the fact he never could get quite used to a cage, he didn't have time to waste dealing with government bullshit. If it's true what she said about the team being taken, Daisy could be in trouble.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." 

Fire burned hot in his hand and traveled down the length of his chain as he unwound it from around him in a snap. Evans' face paled as she raised her gun once more. 

"Sir, put the chain down, or I will shoot," she spoke evenly even though her gun trembled slightly in her hands. 

"Sorry about this," Robbie murmured. 

He slung his chain forward at her as she let out a shot. Red-hot pain blossomed in his left shoulder, but Robbie ignored it as the end of his chain made contact with her gun. The sheer force of his throw knocked the weapon from her hand and onto the cold, hard ground a few feet away. Evans went to reach for it, only to find her pistol half-melted and completely unusable. 

Robbie gritted his teeth as he pulled his chain back in. He could barely move his left arm without feeling like a knife with the heat of the sun was digging into his shoulder. The Rider Roared in him, sizzling fire just beneath his skin, but Robbie used all his strength to keep him at bay. Even if Evans shot him, he knew she wasn't a terrible person. At least, not terrible enough to deserve facing the fiery demon. 

The lieutenant reached behind her waist and pulled out a walkie-talkie. "All units. I need all available units to the east wing of the S.H.I.E.L.D base immediately. A fire enhanced male individual is on site. Very dangerous," she spoke hurriedly into the device.

Robbie rolled his eyes. _You've got to be kidding me right now,_ he thought as he marched up to her. 

"I repeat, the individual is very dangerous. Shoot on--" But the words were lost in her throat as Robbie wrenched the walkie-talkie out of her hand and immediately incinerated it.

"I did say sorry," he grunted before throwing the now destroyed two-way radio onto the ground and leaving the room. 

He had to get out of here. Countless armed officers could show up any minute, and Robbie wasn't really looking forward to possibly fighting them for his freedom. His problems were not with them. So, he ran, or at least jogged the best he could with a bullet still in his shoulder. Sweat beaded across his face from the effort and each step was like having his arm repeatedly crushed in a hydraulic lift. Still, he had been through worse. 

Robbie passed through endless burnt and destroyed corridors with numerous, closed steel doors. He wasn't really sure where he was going -- he had only been to this place three times at best -- but he just had to get away. When he turned a corner, he hoped to find an exit sign. Instead, all he found were six armed tactical agents at the end of the hall. 

"Hey!" One of them shouted and they all took off towards him, raising their guns.

"Shit," Robbie breathed.

He quickly scanned around and turned to the closest closed door. It was unlocked, but it wouldn't budge. The explosion from months ago had slightly warped the door and its frame. With his good shoulder, Robbie slammed all his weight into it and the door went swinging inward.

Bullets whizzed past his ears as he went stumbling into the dim room. Robbie roared as a sharp pain struck his lower back on his left side, but he couldn't worry about that right now. He slammed the door shut and quickly pushed what he assumed to be a nearby, large file cabinet in front of it. As he finished setting it into place, the agents arrived, battering against the door. Robbie held his breath, but the cabinet held. For now. 

He winced as he paced the dim room, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. His left arm and shoulder still burned as if it had been bitten by a thousand fire ants, but there was now a chill in his lower body. The new bullet had gone clean through his back to his abdomen and blood was quickly trickling out through both holes. Robbie pressed a hand down on one side of the wound, but it was really no use without anything the soaked clothes he was wearing and his gloved hand to stop it. Any minute now and he could bleed out entirely.

 _"Just give in already, Robbie,"_ the Rider murmured hollowly in his head with the sweetness of grinding gears. _"We can stop those guards together. Let me help."_

Robbie groaned as blazing heat hotter than an inferno stung his head just beneath his skin.

_No!_

The Rider had already been in charge of his body long enough. It was now time for Robbie to be at the helm, at least for a little while. With himself in charge, Robbie at least had some control over the scenario and what to do next. If the Rider took over, there were not guarantees about what would happen.

 _Not yet. If you want to help, help me find my Charger,_ he told his demonic companion.

People always said that there was a special connection between a man and his machine. Well, Robbie's was more than that. Ever since he had become the Ghost Rider, he and Lucy were tied to each other, almost like they had a psychic link. Robbie figured it had to be the work of the Hellish forces attached to them. 

The tactical agents continued to batter on the door. With each pound, the file cabinet screeched inches further away from the door. Robbie grimaced. If he was going to get out of here, it was now or never. 

Fire shot through his hand and ignited his chain once more. He focused on his beloved Charger as he swung the chain in large loops. Each arc was more painful than the last as his left side screamed from the stress. Finally, the portal exploded to life with the other side hard to make out clearly in the waves of orange energy. Robbie couldn't tell if this portal would actually lead him to his Charger or if the Rider was just going to send him back to another different dimension. 

His heart jumped into his throat as a loud crash resounded behind him. The file cabinet had finally lost its battle and lay pitifully on the ground. Any second now the agents were going to break through that door. He didn't have much of a choice.

Robbie rushed and leaped through the portal as gunshots rattled into the room. His body seemed to hover for a moment as the interdimensional energies took him to who the Hell knows where when he suddenly shot through to the other side and crash landed onto hard, brown dirt. 

He groaned as a dull pain radiated across his chest and chin. Not his best interdimensional portal traveling attempt, but it certainly hadn't been his worst. Robbie coughed as he slowly got up. Bitter, coppery blood laced the inside of his mouth and he honestly couldn't tell if it was because he bit something when he landed or if his gunshot wounds were really starting to get that bad.

As his eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light of the setting sun, Robbie found himself to be in a large, outdoor car impound. 

_At least, this isn't Hell,_ he thought.

Rows of detained S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles lined where he stood, but his eyes were only focused on one car. There at the end of the row next to Coulson's cherry-red '62 Corvette sat his treasured Lucy. She was covered in a little bit of dirt and dust, but she still managed to shine proudly with voluminous beauty and danger even in the dying light. 

Robbie grinned, but immediately his face turned sour once he spotted the boot somebody put on her front left tire. Fire boiled in the pit of his stomach. How could somebody dare try to chain up his baby like that? He muttered a slew of Spanish and English curse words that would have surely made his mother bring out the chancla if she were around as he slowly shuffled his way over. 

Robbie wrapped his chain tight over the knuckles on his right hand. When he reached his Charger, he immediately bent down and slammed his fist into the tire boot. Even in his weakened state, the device practically shattered in half under his force. Robbie ripped the broken pieces off and tossed them aside. 

He wound his chain around his torso once more as he staggered to his full height. Digging into his jeans' pocket, he pulled out his car keys, unlocked the door then slipped himself into the driver's seat. He let out a long sigh as he sunk into her warm, leather seats. 

Closing the door shut, Robbie sat there in the silence for a moment, taking the sight of his Charger all in as the sun began to disappear below the horizon. He smiled as he reached out a gloved hand and lightly caressed her smooth steering wheel. God, did he miss his baby. 

His eyes flicked to the glove compartment and he quickly reached over, opened it and rummaged through. There were a few bits of small car parts and couple trash wrappers, all useless really, until his fingers came across exactly what he had been looking for. Robbie pulled it out , his heart fluttering violently in his chest as he sat back. 

It was a photograph of Daisy. Alright, it was actually a photo of her, Fitz and Simmons, but all he could focus on was her smiling face in the middle.

He had found it while he was rummaging around in Daisy's stuff that day long ago in Canelo's. The day he had been trying to find a reason to warrant killing her. He hadn't meant to keep it, but it had gotten left behind in the shop sometime after she ditched him during the night of the blackout. Robbie had gone back to work at Canelo's to find her van and all her stuff gone, but this lone photo tucked in the shadows between two boxes. Robbie was going to give it back to her, but between the _Darkhold_ , Eli and AIDA, he hadn't had the chance.

The photo had to be a few years old. They all looked so much younger in it, and he honestly could barely recognize Daisy at first with her long brown hair. He knew it had to be her, though, the minute he saw her eyes. The girl in the photo had the same shine of warmth in her brown eyes the way Daisy did whenever she smiled in his direction. Of course, Photo Daisy's smile was much wider and freer than the little grins his Daisy had, but maybe one day he'd get to see this smile for real, too.

_"But I'm here now . . . and that's good."_

_"That is good."_

A soft smile tugged on the corners of his lips as he put the photo carefully back into the glove box and snapped it shut. Robbie twirled his keys then slipped the one for Lucy into the ignition. A crackle of energy tingled up his spine as his Charger roared to life. He revved the engine as scorching flames began to flood his chilled body and crackle just beneath his skin. 

If Daisy was in trouble, he was going to find her. He had to. This wasn't going to be another good-bye. It was far from it.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed. Kudos and comments are appreciated! :)
> 
> Lt. Evans was the woman with Talbot in the finale by the way. 
> 
> Also, sorry there wasn't actually any Daisy/Robbie interactions. The person requesting this prompt left it up to me whether they would meet up again, and well . . .
> 
> On a final note, Robbie Reyes loves Daisy Johnson and he better be back in season 5!


End file.
